Sectional expandable pencil holder

ABSTRACT

A holder for pencils, pens or other slender articles consists of a plurality of holder modules or sections adapted to be releasably connected into a unit which possesses any number of the modules. The unit is mountable upon a wall, desk, machine or the like to satisfy the convenience of the user.

United States Patent [191 [111 3,800,974 Mogel et al. Apr. 2, 1974 [5 SECTIONAL EXPANDABLE PENCIL 3,366,265 1/1968 Hesselbarth 220 23.4 HOLDER 2,636,633 4/1953 Carlson 220/234 3,592,344 7/1971 Schade 220/23.4 [76] Inventors: Ralph E. Mogel, Rt. l, Box 260A,

Jackson, Miss; William J. Coury, 225 Mcdowell Rd., B-l, Florence, Primary Examiner-George E. Lowrance Miss. 39204 Attorney, Agent, or Firm-B. P. Fishburne, Jr.

[22] Filed: Jan. 10, 1972 21 A l. N .2 216,460 I 1 pp 0 57 ABSTRACT U-S. Cl. A holder for pencils pens or other slender articles [1.1L consists of a plurality of holder modules or ections [58] Field of Search 220/234, 23.83, 23.86; adapted to be releasably connected into a i i h 206/DlG. l8;21l'/69-l possesses any number of the modules. The unit is mountable upon a wall, desk, machine or the like to References Clted satisfy the convenience of the user.

UNITED STATES PATENTS 3,696,920 10/1972 Lahay 206/DIG. 18 2 Claims, 6 Drawing Figures l8 as I I I7 I I7 n I 3 VF l 1 i Y SECTIONAL EXPANDABLE PENCIL HOLDER The objective of the invention is to improve upon the known prior art through the provision of a simplified and economical holder for pencils, pens and other slender articles in modular form and adapted to be molded from plastics. The holder is expandable in that any number of modules may be employed in the assembly which is adapted to be mounted on any flat surface, such as the side of a desk, file cabinet or wall. The individual modules or sections have interfitting components which snap together and interlock to produce a substantially unitary rigid assembly. The holder has convenient adhesive mounting means and may also be anchored with screws. The device is characterized by extreme simplicity, economy of manufacture and convenience of use. It may be manufactured in bright colors or from transparent material. Other features and advantages of the invention will become apparent during the course of the following description.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWING FIGURES FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a pencil holder embodying the invention formed by a pair of interengaging separable modules.

FIG. 2 is a front elevation, partly in section, of the modules forming the holder in FIG. 1 prior to interconnecting the same into a unit.

FIG. 3 is a horizontal section taken on line 33 of FIG. 2.

.FIG. 4 is aperspective view, similar'to FIG. 1, of a holder-formed by the same two modules shown in FIG. 1 plus a plurality of intervening modules or sections whichcollectively form an expandable holder.

FIG. 5 is an exploded front elevation showing the intermediate modules in FIG. 4 prior to assembly..

FIG. 6 is a horizontal section taken on line 6-6 of FIG. 5.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION Referring to the drawings in detail, wherein like numeralsdes ignate like parts, the numerals l0 and 11 designate a pair of end sections or modules utilized in the formation of an expandable holder for pencils 12 or similar slender articles. As depicted in FIG. 1, a simple holder for two pencils or a pen and pencil may be constructed from the single pair of modules and 1 1. The latter are formed separately, preferably by molding from an economical plastics material which may be opaque or transparent, as desired. Each module 10 and 11 comprises an elongated body portion 13 of a uniform cross section and preferably having a fiat front face 14 for the mounting of any desired indicia. The body portion 13 is provided with a central cylindrical bore 15 for the reception of a pencil or the like and the bore terminates near the bottom end of the body portion in a tapered extremity 16 so as to form a rest for the usually tapered writing instrument. The length of the bore 15 is sufflcient to support the average pencil or the like with stability. a

The modules or sections 10 and 11 have outer side integral mounting flanges 17, each provided with an opening 18 for the reception ofa mounting screw 19 by means of which the holder may be secured to a wall surface, article of furniture or the like. The rear face of each module 10 and 11 including the flange 17 is flat for stable contact with a wall or other flat mounting member as indicated at 20. To facilitate joining the modules 10 and 1 l in an integrated rigid assembly, one module is provided on one side thereof at vertically spaced points with a pair of small pin projections or nipples 21 which engage snugly within small socket openings 22 formed in the opposing side of the other module 11. When the two modules are pressed firmly together so that the nipples 21 are firmly engaged in the sockets 22, the modules become rigid and unitized to produce a holder assembly of the type shown in FIG. 1.

In addition to the mounting screws 19, or in lieu thereof, the holder may be mounted by adhesive means on any supporting surface and toward this end a preferably masked permanently tacky pressure-sensitive adhesive coating 23 is applied to the rear flat faces 20 of the modules at the time of manufacturing. The user may simply remove the customary wax paper mask and press the device firmly into place on a wall or the like. The holder is normally mounted in an upright position but could be mounted at an angle or at any position where the open tops of the bores 15 are above the horizontal so that the slender articles will not fall out.

FIG. 4 illustrates the expandability of the holder or support by the inclusion betweenv the end modules 10 and 11 of any desired number of intermediate modules or sections 24. These intermediate modules are basically similar to the end modules 10 and 11 and are formed of the same material and are of the same length as the end modules and each possesses the same type of bore 25 for receiving a pencil or the like. The intermediate modules 24 differ from the end modules in that they lack the side flange 17. Otherwise, in cross sectional shape, they may be substantially identical to the end modules.

Again, differing from the end modules, each intermediate module 24 is provided on one side with a pair of projecting nipples 26 and on its opposite side with a pair of socket openings 27 spaced to receive the nipples 27 of the next adjacent end or intermediate module. Each module 24 has the above-mentioned masked pressure-sensitive adhesive coating 28 on the rear flat face thereof to facilitate mounting the holder on a supporting surface.

It will now be understood that an indefinitely expandable holder or support for slender articles may be constructed from a plurality of the intermediate modules 24 along or in combination with the end pair of modules 10 and 11. FIG. 4 shows a holder comprised of the end modules 10 and 11 plus a single pair of intermediate modules 24. The nipples 21 of the end module 10 are inserted into the sockets 27 of the first intermediate module 24, and the nipples 26 of that mocule 24 are inserted into the sockets of the next intermediate module, etc., until a holder of the desired size has been constructed. Such a holder can include any number of the intermediate modules 24 interlocked with and between a pair of the end modules 10 and 11. If preferred, the holder may be constructed entirely from a desired number of the modules 24, without utilizing the two end modules. It is thought that the flexibility and versatility of the invention will now be readily understood without the necessity for further description.

It is to be understood that the form of the invention herewith shown and described is to be taken as a preferred example of the same, and that various changes in the shape, size and arrangement of parts may be resorted to, without departing from the spirit of the invention or scope of the subjoined claims.

We claim:

1. A holder for slender articles comprising a plurality of holder sections of separate and independent formation, each section comprising an elongated body having an elongated bore adapted to receive a slender article, each section having a substantially flat mounting face with a pressure-sensitive adhesive mounting means thereon, each section having at least a pair of projections carried by one side thereof adapted to enter aligned socket recesses in one side of a similar section, whereby a plurality of said sections may be detachably rigidly interlocked in assembled relationship to form a holder of any desired size having any desired number of said sections, and a pair of end holder sections for said holder having apertured mounting flanges on their outer sides enabling the holder to be secured to a mounting surface by screws or the like, each end holder section having means to interlock with the projections or socket recesses of the adjacent first-named holder sections.

2. The structure of claim 1 and said means to interlock comprising a pair of projections on one end holder section and a pair of socket recesses formed in the other end holder section. 

1. A holder for slender articles comprising a plurality of holder sections of separate and independent formation, each section comprising an elongated body having an elongated bore adapted to receive a slender article, each section having a substantially flat mounting face with a pressure-sensitive adhesive mounting means thereon, each section having at least a pair of projections carrIed by one side thereof adapted to enter aligned socket recesses in one side of a similar section, whereby a plurality of said sections may be detachably rigidly interlocked in assembled relationship to form a holder of any desired size having any desired number of said sections, and a pair of end holder sections for said holder having apertured mounting flanges on their outer sides enabling the holder to be secured to a mounting surface by screws or the like, each end holder section having means to interlock with the projections or socket recesses of the adjacent first-named holder sections.
 2. The structure of claim 1 and said means to interlock comprising a pair of projections on one end holder section and a pair of socket recesses formed in the other end holder section. 